Rising Venus slams back into semis
LONDON — In some ways, making it to a Grand Slam semifinal is rather been-there, donethat for Venus Williams. She is, after all, already the owner of seven major titles, including five at Wimbledon. This one, though, is different. She’s 36 years old now, a halfdozen years removed from her last such run. And, in the interim, she has been through the daily struggles of dealing with a disease that can sap energy and cause joint pain.
Williams made it to the final four at the All England Club for the first time since 2009, and at any Grand Slam tournament since the year after that, playing mistake-free to beat Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6 (5), 6-2 in yesterday’s quarterfinals.
“Semifinals feels good, but it doesn’t feel foreign at all, let’s put it that way,” said Williams, whose first Wimbledon title came in 2000 and whose most recent in 2008.
Asked to compare her current level of play to that of the past, Williams shook her head, shut her eyes and laughed.
“I don’t remember. Six years ago is ages ago,” she said. “I was most likely kicking butt six years ago, if I was in the semis or the finals. You have to be.”
Just like in the old days, Williams will be joined in the semis by a familiar face — younger sister Serena, who moved closer to equaling Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam championships by defeating 21st-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4, taking the last three games of each set. Serena hit 11 aces, including one at 123 mph to end it.
This, then, is the latest chapter of the remarkable Williams sister tale. It’s the 11th time they’ve reached the semis at the same major; in all previous 10, one took home the trophy. That includes four all-in-the-family finals at Wimbledon, with Venus winning in 2008, and Serena in 2002, 2003 and 2009.
Tomorrow, they will try to set up another title match when No. 1 Serena faces unseeded Elena Vesnina, while No. 8 Venus meets No. 4 Angelique Kerber.
Kerber, who surprised Serena in the Australian Open final in January for her first Grand Slam title, advanced by eliminating No. 5 Simona Halep 7-5, 7-6 (2). Vesnina, ranked 50th and never before a major quarterfinalist, moved on by overwhelming No. 19 Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-2.
The last men’s quarterfinal spot was earned by 2010 runnerup Tomas Berdych, who completed his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8), 6-7 (9), 6-3 victory over Jiri Vesely in a match suspended after the fourth set Monday night because of darkness. Today, the semifinalists will be determined by these matchups: Andy Murray vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic vs. Sam Querrey and Berdych vs. Lucas Pouille.
In 2011, Venus revealed that she had been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, and since then there have been repeated questions about when she might quit tennis, especially after six first-round exits at majors over the past six years, compared to three over her first 14 years.
“Retiring is the easy way out,” Williams said. “I don’t have time for easy.”